Background General practice has significant interdisciplinary characteristics, both qualitative research and mixed methods research are applicable to scientific research in this field. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of relevant academic papers published in China, but the overall quality of the literature has not been systematically assessed.
Objective To explore the methodological quality of qualitative and mixed methods research literature published in the field of primary care and general practice.
Methods From August 2022 to April 2023, four investigators analyzed and assessed the methodological quality of qualitative and mixed methods research published in the field of primary care and general practice in China in 2021 using the qualitative assessment tools of Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) and Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT), respectively. The researchers were grouped in pairs and independently for information extraction and quality evaluation.
Results A total of 35 qualitative research and 9 mixed methods research were included. Among the qualitative research, 23 literature (65.71%) did not sufficiently considered ethical issues; recruitment of participants was not discussed in 94.29% (33/35) of the research; the relationship between the researcher and the participants was not adequately considered in 82.86% (29/35) of the research; 42.86% (15/35) of the research had a sample size of <20 participants and data saturation was not discussed in 25.71% (9/35) of the research. Major problems with mixed methods research included the fact that: 8/9 of the research did not explicitly report the type of mixed methods research design and 8/9 of the research failed to effectively integrate the different components of the study to answer the research question.
Conclusion The methodological quality of such qualitative and mixed methods research in primary care and general practice published in 2021 in China is still partially limited, especially in the ethics, reliability and information saturation among qualitative research, and the integration among mixed methods research, which should be further strengthened by training in research methodology and strict adherence to research design and reporting statements in order to improve the quality of research and even evidence for decision making.
